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Letter from John T. Duff to Wife, April 2, 1862

Letter from John T. Duff to Wife, April 2, 1862

Stmr Maria Denning }
Cairo April 2 1862 }
My Dear Wife you
will percieve by this that I have come
back and now living on “Maria”
She is a good old soul but still “Smells”
well wors [e?] for the reason [season?] of my being
here as I wrote you I had a very bad
cold and the more I stood a watch at
night the worse I got, until th[e] Doctor
said he would not give me any more
medicine unless I would agree not to stand watch
and keep my room so I held on till
last Thursday and caved in and kept
my room ever since until yesterday
when I come on deck when the Com
modore called me and inquired after
my health when I told him that
I could not stand watch until I got
better of my cold when he very kindly
suggested that if I choose I might go
to Cairo and take my old position and
send scott down to fill my place till I
was better as Scott had not rendered
up his accounts satisfactory from the
fact that he had not the Education or
ability to manage a recieving [?] ship I
tried very hard to let me go home
but it was no go for said he I have
lost a Son and my family are sick
and I want to go home but cant
consequently as I cant leave I will
not suffer any of my officers to leave

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Preferred Citation

[Name of document, date, Name of collection], Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis. Retrieved from [url of specific digital item location].

Stmr Maria Denning }
Cairo April 2 1862 }
My Dear Wife you
will percieve by this that I have come
back and now living on “Maria”
She is a good old soul but still “Smells”
well wors [e?] for the reason [season?] of my being
here as I wrote you I had a very bad
cold and the more I stood a watch at
night the worse I got, until th[e] Doctor
said he would not give me any more
medicine unless I would agree not to stand watch
and keep my room so I held on till
last Thursday and caved in and kept
my room ever since until yesterday
when I come on deck when the Com
modore called me and inquired after
my health when I told him that
I could not stand watch until I got
better of my cold when he very kindly
suggested that if I choose I might go
to Cairo and take my old position and
send scott down to fill my place till I
was better as Scott had not rendered
up his accounts satisfactory from the
fact that he had not the Education or
ability to manage a recieving [?] ship I
tried very hard to let me go home
but it was no go for said he I have
lost a Son and my family are sick
and I want to go home but cant
consequently as I cant leave I will
not suffer any of my officers to leave